I love movies and I love interior design. Throughout history, movies have not only inspired us with ways to decorate our homes, they have also created trends. So many films have brilliantly incorporated a historically famous style and have simultaneously shown us, the viewing public, how to use these looks in our own homes.
One of my favourites is the original Wall Street movie with Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen. This was about the lavishness of the 1980s, and the quick money that these guys on Wall Street were raking in.
Their greed and yearning for the high life was depicted in the character of Gordon Gekko and his office. It was opulent with textures of metal and leather with rich, deep colours, but it was the paint finishes that had me on the edge of my seat. Surfaces were painted to emulate the luxury of velvet, the coldness of steel and the warmth of leather. I was hooked.
I remember Something's Gotta Give with the fabulous Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. In the theatre, you could hear a collective intake of breath from the audience at the sight of the home belonging to the woman played by Diane Keaton. I listened to the murmur of enthusiastic whispers as friends discussed the subtle shades of pastels with fresh, white mouldings, the oversized, oat-coloured sofas, and bookcases panelled in glossy white wood. How many of us, I wonder, rented the movie just to help choose a colour palette for our own walls?
Movies and TV shows can offer us a vision of trends that are about to reappear.
Mad Men is the perfect example. Furnishings, patterns, colours and textures from the early 1960s are once again becoming a staple in our homes, albeit with a slight twist. Coloured appliances are now back in vogue creating a sigh of relief from the decades of stainless steel and white. I just bought a lemon yellow toaster, a joyful upgrade to my mom's Harvest Gold, and I have a wild noodle rug in pistachio green, again a modern version on the green shag of long ago.
This year, we spent my birthday at an ancient castle in Tuscany, which is the hotel where the romantic movie Letters to Juliet starring Amanda Seyfried and Vanessa Redgrave was filmed. We stayed in the actual room where they filmed many of the scenes.
Borgo Scopeto (borgo scopetorelais.it), which should be added to everyone's bucket list, was built more than 600 years ago. The latest restoration to this now stunning hotel incorporates today's modern comforts, but the paint techniques employed have been used in Tuscany for centuries. The use of colour-blocking and what is known as 'lining' in the hallways and bedrooms of this hotel encompass both the practical and esthetic sense integral to good design.
Creating blocks of colour on a wall brings large rooms to scale, an ideal solution for anyone who has cathedral ceilings in their home. Bands and lines of colour usually replace baseboards in these old villas - a fabulous remedy if you have three-inch baseboards that you would like to make more impressive. A roll of low tack masking tape, a base colour on your walls and an alternative colour will create a clean, modern and interesting element for the plainest room.
The next time you watch a movie, whether it's a historic European romance or an America drama, dwell on the backdrop of the homes as well as the action on the screen. You will find so much inspiration to take to your own home redecorating plans.
Debbie Travis's House to Home column is produced by Debbie Travis and Barbara Dingle. Email your questions to [email protected]. You can follow Debbie on Twitter at twitter.com/debbie_travis, and visit Debbie's website, debbietravis.com.
